A Fine Gael TD has spoken out against the planned fare increase for taxis, saying that it "serves to punish taxi customers for a lack of supply that is no fault of their own".
Taxi fares will rise by an average of 12% from Thursday, marking the first increase for cab drivers since 2018. However, Dublin-Rathdown TD Neale Richmond has said that an annual recruitment campaign is needed to "repair" the industry, rather a fare increase.
He cited the recent taxi driver recruitment campaign launched by the National Transport Authority, and said this should be replicated every year. "They must be an annual event to ensure that we have a steady flow of drivers entering the industry rather than the current peak followed by a steady decline," Deputy Richmond said.
